Small, mobile computing devices such as personal desktop assistants, contemporary mobile telephones, hand-held and pocket-sized computers, tablet personal computers and the like, are becoming important and popular user tools. In general, they have become small enough to be extremely convenient, while consuming less battery power, and at the same time have become capable of running more powerful applications.
Recent developments have resulted in such devices being able to connect to networks, including the Internet. For example, typical mobile computing devices such as pocket-sized personal computers can now place telephone calls, as well as connect to networks over technologies such as Wireless Ethernet (also known as 802.11b or Wi-Fi), and Bluetooth™ wireless technology. Likewise, mobile telephones such as those running Microsoft® Smartphone software allow users to make conventional mobile telephone calls and also access the Internet, as well as send and receive e-mails and files, store contacts, maintain appointments and do many other things contemporary computers can now do.
With sophisticated devices like pocket-sized personal computers, there may be more than one way to connect to a remote device. For example, with mobile devices, a user can dial up a network, or can use GPRS (General Packet Radio Service). GPRS is emerging as a technology via which networks can offer high-capacity, ‘always-on’ Internet-based content and packet-based data services. Cost is a factor to many users, and roaming impacts the cost of GPRS and CSD (Circuit Switched Data) calls. In sum, for various reasons, such as cost, speed, and so on, many users want to select from among these multiple types of connections.
However, with mobile devices configured for multiple types of connections, users do not know which connection will be used. In other words, a connection is selected for the user, without the user's input. Thus, when the user configures the device to connect, there currently is no way for the user to know which connection the device will choose to connect, e.g., when called upon by an application that needs a network connection. At present, the user only finds out in the event the device fails to establish a connection.
Improvements in convenience that increase the usability of mobile devices are needed, however heretofore there has been no convenient solution to determine and/or select the current network connection on contemporary mobile devices. Further, since these types of devices are inherently mobile, the user may frequently change area codes, and thus have to review and possibly change the current dialup settings. At present, the user has to be fairly knowledgeable to navigate to a connection manager user interface to review the current settings and/or change them, which requires that the user enter through a Start menu, control panel user interface. In sum, the present mechanisms for connecting mobile devices to networks are generally inconvenient, confusing, difficult and/or not very intuitive to many users.